Ic:
The arm, ghostly and pale in the morning’s half-light reached out shaking from the bed. Slapping away the covers and the spilt, empty bottles of the previous night’s revelries, its fingers fumbled for the com-panel.
“Ehwoo? Raaghm…” The unearthly moan trailed off into some unholy mixture of cough, sputter and yawn.
“Hello?” Kalon Adats croaked again, this time coherently. “Room service? Hello? Anyone?” He coughed again and rolled over so he could get a look at the panel.
“Hello? Hello?” he started pressing random buttons, desperate for a reply, any reply. He needed eggs, eggs and toast and beans, some tea too.

When one didn’t come he swore. Loudly. That didn’t attract any attention either.‘Bloody comm. systems on the frits…’ He realised pushing his dark brown hair away from his hazel eyes. ‘Manager’ll hear about this and no mistake…’
He took a quick shower and pulled on his expensive looking clothes, finishing the collection off with a burgundy waistcoat and a dyed black Dewback hide jacket.
Suddenly he realised something was wrong. The Twi’lek he’d hooked up with the night before Anna… something or other, was missing, but her jacket was still there hanging up by the trouser press… and several items of a more intimate nature were strewn about the hotel room’s floor.

“Where the hell have you got to girl?” he mused aloud.
Then he caught sight of the clock on the far wall and checked his chrono just to make sure. ‘Room service isn’t working, it’s nearly lunch time… probably gone down to the restaurant. Guess I’ll go join her.’
With a smile on his face he left his hotel room soon after, pocketing a selection of alcohols and nuts from the mini-bar on his way figuring he could probably use them later.

The corridor outside was surprisingly empty, no staff, no droids, no guests no nothing. Only a tipped over plant pot a few doors down and the odd towel filled trolley left parked by the turbolift. Maybe he’d slept through a fire drill or something?
He shrugged, figured he’d find out when he got to the lobby, and stepped into the lift.
He hit the button marked G. Nothing happened, he tried it again and again and still nothing happened.

“Shavit.”

“So it’s not just the room service down. Lights are on so it’s not a power out, what could it be?” By now he was talking out loud just for the comfort of sound. Kalon had never liked silence; he was much more at home in the cacophony of some gambling den or Casino, the kind of place that Cloud City was famous for being. The kind of place he’d been in last night, the kind of place he could win the kind of credits it takes to afford staying in a swanky place like this, not that he was exactly getting value for money here. Especially now that he was taking the stairs.

***

“Hello? … HELLO!” louder this time, he’d reached the lobby and still no one was about. This was seriously starting to konk him off. “What in the name of Koba Khan is going on here!”

First came the echo of his own words, then came the reply, a sound like nothing he’d ever heard before in all his short years of life.

Deep like the dry winds through a Tatooine desert canyon, and just as empty and devoid of life as the dead rock of that world.

“…Hello?” He asked again.

OOc:
Welcome. Feel free to jump in.

"Tucker, there's a very fine line between not listening and not caring. I like to think I walk that line every day." -Church. Red vs. Blue.

Running water was heard from the refresher inside the small hotel room. A human male in his mid thirties splashed water on his face. He ran one hand through his Dark brown hair. He looked deep into the mirror and studied his face. His skin had a mild tan and hie Brown eyes were barely open. Dark bags were present under his eyes. He splashed his face again. He grabbed a towel and wipped his face off. Then he moved back into the bedroom and sat down on the bed. He got back up and moved over to the closet. He dressed himself in a black shirt and pants. He secured his holster on his hip and placed his blaster inside it. He moved over to a desk and grabbed his chrono, examined it and the engraving underneath that said To Clith my beloved brother.

Clith moved to the door and watched it slide open. He entered the narrow hallway and noticed it unusualy quiet. He walked slowly down the hallway looking at every door. He reached the middle of the hallway and activated the turbolift. Only to be met with silence. After several attempts at using the turbolift Clith figured it was under maitanence and moved down to the end of the hall. He opened the door and began his decent. Where the frell is everyone? Clith asked himself.

Niko says:
were so lame
Kit_Fitsu says:
but awesome at the same time
Niko says:
its so contradictory
Magic Man says:
agreed on both acounts

Strange. It was true, he needed sleep, but no one was moving outside the window. In fact, he couldn't see anyone at all - no one was striding briskly along the outdoor walkways, not one was riding the turbolifts, and there were no patrols flying swiftly between the city tops. Out among the clouds, the only real scenery there, were some native creatures, but far too distant to make out.

The door hummed open without complaint. No one was moving in the halls, not on this floor, nor the one above or below. Wait - there was the sound of a door. Not a regular room door, the simple hinged door to the stairwell. Was the turbolift not working?

The answer to that was no. He, too let the stairwell door slam behind him as he hurried down.

And yet he saw no one - not even the one who had traveled this way earlier.

But a sign of life - a small datapad. Must've fallen out of the other person's pocket. It looked fairly cheap, but he got a name out of it before shutting it off - Kalon Adats.

He reached the ground floor at last, and heard a voice as he exited the stairs. "...Hello?" it came, soft, and sounding scared. Bah. As if an empty hotel was nearly as frightening as an onslaught of CIS battle droids and only three men with you. Whoever this Adats guy was, he had no exposure to real fear.

The soft tang of new carpet struck his nose as he padded quietly into the lobby, behind its sole occupant.

"Mr. Adats? Major Markil Strowe. I believe you dropped this."

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

Kalon jumped out of his skin to hear the voice and when he turned round he found himself annoyed to see the man suppressing a smirk.
“Thanks.” He said testily before asking. “Listen did you just hear something strange?”
“Hear what?” Asked Markil with something approaching mild disdain in his voice. “You’re the only thing I’ve heard all day Mr. Adats this place is quite deserted.”‘Not nearly deserted enough…’ Kalon realised and deliberated weather or not say as much before deciding he’d better try and explain. “It sounded kind of like a Krayt Dragon only a lot quieter and with a little more base and a Frell load of tremble.”
“Yes I could see the tremble when I walked in, but a Krayt Dragon? What are you-”
Then it happened again, the low moan only this time there were three distinct voices acting in discordant harmony. It was a sound that went half way to turnings Kalon’s stomach and it was coming from just outside.
“Is that what it sounded like?” Asked the Major?
“Yeah that. Please tell me you brought a Blaster with you.”

"Tucker, there's a very fine line between not listening and not caring. I like to think I walk that line every day." -Church. Red vs. Blue.

As Clith was about to exit the stairwell he felt a vibration and heard loud a groan. He lowered his hand to his blaster, unholstered it, and held it up by his face. The door opened and he walked into the ground floor of the Hotel his blaster pistol raised and scanning the room. Nothing was there just datapads and holonet transceviers thrown on the ground.

"Hello? Anyone here?" Clith asked keeping his gun up ready to fire at the slightest hint of danger. He moved up to the check in office near the exit. He knew something was wrong. He had a very bad feeling about what was behind that door leading to the main lobby. Opening the door he saw two figures standing at the far end of the lobby. He raised his blaster at them.

"Who the frell are you guys?"

Niko says:
were so lame
Kit_Fitsu says:
but awesome at the same time
Niko says:
its so contradictory
Magic Man says:
agreed on both acounts

Markil would like to have believed that he felt no fear, but he shivered involuntarily and denied himself that courtesy. Something in those moans was evidently far, far worse than the tramp of hundreds of metallic feet. He definitely felt a need for a blaster right now.

"I might ask the same question," the Major said. "Put that blaster down, I'm currently unarmed, and as far as I know, all Adats here has is his datapad. I'm still a bit worried, though, so keep that thing handy."

He turned back to Kalon. "You're in luck," he told him, "I was going on a hunting trip as soon as I left here, and I brought a rifle. It's up in my room; we'd better get up there and get it. Sooner better than later. I've never heard anything like that sound before, and it worries me."

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

Kalon nodded eagerly. “I think going upstairs is a very good idea right now, after we pick up your gun lets try and find an outside view, or a holoproj unit and find out exactly what’s going on here. Either way it gets us away from-”
The moans rose again, this time followed by the sounds of glass breaking out in the street.
“-Away from whatever that is.” He turned now to fully face the new comer. “I’m Kalon by the way, only my auntie Sue and my 3rd grade P.E. teacher called me Mr. Adats, to everyone else I’m Kal.”
“Pleasure.” Said the other, holstering his weapon and offering his hand. “Clith.”

***

Kalon was not a fan of stairs by now but was glad for the distance they put between himself and the noise, or more particularly the source of the noise, whatever that was.
“Nice room.” Clith noted as the Major went about assembling his rifle. “Nicer gun.”
“Yeah that’s all well and good.” Said Kalon as he twisted and toggled the receiver switches on the room’s holoprojector. “But we’re still none the wiser about what’s happening. All I’m getting here is test-cards and static.”
Clith shook himself. “This is too weird.”
“You’re telling me.”
“You know.” Said Markil, leaving his rifle on the bed as he walked over the window. “There are other ways to find things out.”
Kalon shook his head. “I already looked, there’s nothing out there.”
“Exactly.”
“Huh?”
“No traffic, ground car, speeder or space craft, no people, no droids and look there, across the street.” Kalon and Clith both followed the other’s finger as he pointed at the opposite building. Both caught on quick enough but Clith was the first to catch on.
“No lights, nothing in the window… that buildings totally empty!”
Kal looked from one man to the other, a hundred questions running through his head, but he only needed one answer. “Does either of you two own a ship? And if so, would you mind giving the rest of us a lift anywhere else?”

Downstairs something entered the lobby.

"Tucker, there's a very fine line between not listening and not caring. I like to think I walk that line every day." -Church. Red vs. Blue.

"Well," said Markil, "I'm all for making a rope ladder and rappelling down the side of the building."

The looks on the other two's faces was too much, and the Major laughed for a minute, before continuing. "I'm perfectly serious; whatever that thing is, it's in the lobby. And I don't think it can climb walls."

Kal broke the silence after a second or so. "Well... I don't think I want to try the odds on that."

"About the ship, though," Markil said, "I don't have one; I came here on a luxury liner. About as luxury as you could get. I was in a bare fourth-class cabin. That leaves you as the only possibility, Clith. Got one?"

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

"Well i have a ship its not exactly a luxury liner but it flys and anything is better than nothing." He looked out the window judging the distance down to the ground. Now clith could hear footsteps on the stairwell. He didnt know if the others heard them. "Frell anything is better than here, step back." The other two backed off as Clith unholstered his blaster and shot the window. He placed his blaster back in his holster.

"How bout that rope major?"

Niko says:
were so lame
Kit_Fitsu says:
but awesome at the same time
Niko says:
its so contradictory
Magic Man says:
agreed on both acounts

"Er..." Markil said, "Right, then. I think there's actually an escape ladder in the closet somewhere, can you get that, Kal? I'm going to take a peek around with some binoculars."

Kal came up with it after a minute while the Major looked around for some time. "Wait," he said, "Do you hear that? Sounds like footsteps getting close... FOR FRELL'S SAKE, MAN, LOCK THE DAMN DOOR!"

The door clicked softly, but the sound was drowned out by continual hammering on the door, slow and unceasing. Markil grabbed the ladder out of Kal's hands, and attached it to the clip below the window. Clith snatched the free end and tossed it out the window, and as soon as that happened, the Major had his rifle slung over his back and was sliding down, stopping halfway down before either of the other two had gotten on.

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

Markil waited a few seconds and then nimbly slid down the ladder, landing on his feet with only the slightest sound. His military instincts were dominating, but only with some confusion. The silence, only punctuated by the other two men's feet clanking on the ladder, was alien to him, used so much to repeated gunfire and explosions to make one deaf.

And then there was that moan, that horribly moan which triggered some erratic, almost useless strand of DNA, telling him that this was a danger above all others. Rational thought could not remove this subconscious warning from its armored bastion.

The rifle was raised, almost before he even knew it. Far off, he thought he could see a figure on the street. Quite strange.

Then Kal and Clith were walking towards him, surprisingly unhurried, considering the situation they were in.

One of them was talking, and the Major didn't know who, nor did he care. His gaze was fixed on the window that they had just exited.

The reason for his ignoring whomever of the two was talking was the face in the window. It was moving, starting through the window, and... falling. The mere instant in which this occurred felt like ten seconds to Markil, a unit of time which he felt most overlooked.

"Ah, frell, what's this idiot gone and jumped for, there's a ladder right there!" exclaimed Kal wildly, heading for the still figure. He stopped.

"Major, why've you got that rifle aimed at him? He's got to have broken his neck!"

"Get... back... from him." Markil had to be firm about this. He had lost too many friends to recklessness; it was only his gut instinct to stay back from something that had kept him from stepping on at least a dozen mines and walking through the firing line of a dozen machine guns.

Kal turned back, and started back towards the injured, or possibly dead, man. The one who was now moving, starting to stand, and now advancing towards them...

His, or the Major's inclination to say Its mouth opened wide, and it raised its arms.

Now the source of the moan was clearly evident. Kal cowered, and slowly took a step back, and then another, and then fell over the curb. The thing was already reaching down for him, and Markil wasted no time in shooting it straight in the chest.

It fell back for a moment, and then stood up, chest now marred by a massive, blackened hole. He (or it?) took another step, letting a few embers fall out of the hole.

Now was the point that most would have questioned what had just happened, but that was not to be. Markil wasted no time and tried for the head next, boring a smoking crater into the top of the thing's skull.

It toppled over onto Kalon, perfectly still now.

"...What the hell was that?" asked Clith.

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

Clith moved over to Kal and removed the smoldering corpse on top of him to the side.

"Ya alright there Kal" Clith asked extending his hand.

He pulled Kal up and moved over to the corpse. He checked it out throughly then said.

"Well im not a doctor but id say that hole in his chest should have put him down. Whatever he is he isnt human thats for sure." Clith pulled his blaster out of his holster and checked the power pack in it making sure it was almost full.

Niko says:
were so lame
Kit_Fitsu says:
but awesome at the same time
Niko says:
its so contradictory
Magic Man says:
agreed on both acounts

Kal stood there shaking for a moment, then he doubled over and vomited.
“Hey are you…”
He vomited again.
“Obviously not.” Said the soldier boy.
“That was, he was… and you…” Kal tried desperately to form a sentence, but his brain was locked up trying to process other data. The smell of the thing still filled Kal’s nostrils, the feel of it, that look in it’s eyes or rather, that lack of a look. In that creature Kal had seen an emptiness so profound, it was –it had fallen on him, bled on his shirt, he needed a shower. Now. Oh god…
Kal hacked up again but by now he was empty so the coughing just pushed the cartilage in his neck out of joint instead. Painfully he swallowed in order to pull it back into place and chocked down the remaining bile.
“I uh…” He started again but was out of breath from the ordeal. It took him another moment to compose himself, leaning against the hotel’s wall while the others waited patiently.
“Okay.” He said at last. “Lets go.”

"Tucker, there's a very fine line between not listening and not caring. I like to think I walk that line every day." -Church. Red vs. Blue.

"Yeah..." said Markil, "I don't like to think about the possibility that there's more of these things around, and that they might have heard us. And I think if we're not here, it'll be easier to not look at that thing, whatever it is."

The Major took a step down the street, then stopped. "Clith, you're the only one who knows where your ship is; lead the way, if you don't mind. And if you do mind, you still have a gun."

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

clith nodded to markil then pointed down a narrow street that lead to the hanger bay. "Thats the way to my ship. Just follow me.... and markil do keep that cannon of yours ready."
The group found their way to the dock area all right but clith still thought he occasionaly heard something moving in the shadows.
"All we gotta do now is find the hanger im in and were home free."
They moved to the hanger only to see in horror as a freighter had crashed into the bay doors. Preventing them from using this route.

"Oh frell no, no way this is possible. Were going to have to find a way around.....but i dont know one ive only been here a few days. Were going to have to find a map unless one of you two know another way."
Clith sat down on the street in front of the burning wrekage that was the door. i guess im going to be late for this shipment. that slug is gonna skin me alive......great just great.

Niko says:
were so lame
Kit_Fitsu says:
but awesome at the same time
Niko says:
its so contradictory
Magic Man says:
agreed on both acounts

Markil swore as well. "I think we can get around... but it would take some time. We'd have to go right through the city center, and then come back around... unless we can get to the Wing Guard hangar. If there's some airspeeders there, we can fly here... if you're good enough."

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

Clith looked back up at markil and sighed. "Im in... lets get the frell outta this place before whatever has been making those noises for the past ten minutes shows itself. Lead on oh great all knowing one." Clith offered sarcasticly.

Niko says:
were so lame
Kit_Fitsu says:
but awesome at the same time
Niko says:
its so contradictory
Magic Man says:
agreed on both acounts

The Major lifted his gun and stepped back onto the street, striding purposefully halfway down the pathway to the exit onto the main streets before he heard that horrific moan.

"You hear that?" he asked.

"How could we not have?" answered the other two.

"Well, are we getting out of here or what? I say we move, and move fast."

"Well, that could make us a little too visible..."

"Perhaps, but I'd like to get out of here as fast as possible," Markil said, "and I doubt whatever that is that attacked us, and it seems another is getting ready to attack us now, can really move that fast. After all, you saw how fast it attacked Kal."

"Too fast for me," Kal said.

"Right, well, if we spend too much time arguing, we'll definitely have to stand and fight, and I don't like that prospect. Let's move now."

And Markil nearly sprinted out the exit, into the sunlight, and behind some cover. "Looks like it's clear," he called, "there's one or two, but they're a bit farther off."

That's no tank!
"t all has to show impeccable logic and unflawed realism, even if it deals with a different galaxy and an era 3,000 years in the past or the future." - George Lucas

Leon skidded around the corner of the desk and quickly ducked under it, the heavy thumping grew closer and his hands tightened around the grip of his blaster, it was a standard issue security force job, nothing special and whatever that thing that was thromping down the hallwy behind him was had absobed 4 shots to the chest and kept on coming. Behind the table the tudding of deck plating came to halt and he could hear the heavy breathing, it was the most un-nerving thing he'd ever heard before. There was a long momment and then the thudding footsteps started again this time moving away, seconds later the shreik of metal being torn apart echoed through the room.

The young security officer waited a full five minutes before he crawled out from under the desk and carefully surveyed the room around him, at the far end of the booking area he could see the massive security door that had been sealign off the detention wing from the rest of the station torn apart, peices of it still clinging to the hinges. He almost tried to make some kind of whity remark but none came to him. Instead he moved back towards where both he and the monster had come from, the detention cells...

Clith raised his blaster to his side. "Where should we head over to." Clith asked as he stared off into the distance looking at the two figures Markil had seen.

Clith thought he heard a metalic crunch in the far off distance but passed it off as his imagination. He wondered if markil and kal heard it to.
"I have a really bad feeling about this...like something is stalking us waiting for us to let our gaurd down. I dont like it, we need to move, now"

Niko says:
were so lame
Kit_Fitsu says:
but awesome at the same time
Niko says:
its so contradictory
Magic Man says:
agreed on both acounts